LOCHIEL — For more than 70 days, someone was always up in the tree. On Monday morning, Border Patrol agents brought that to an end, and contractors cut down the last of four old cottonwoods that stood along the border in this remote ranching hamlet in the San Rafael Valley.
Protesters told TucsonSentinel.com that agents arrived around 6:30 a.m., while the group was holding its daily sunrise prayer, and that the tree the activists called the “grandmother tree” came down around 8:30 a.m. By 10 a.m., they said, 10 people had been arrested and 10 more cited and released. Arizona Luminaria, reporting from accounts on the ground, said activists counted at least 12 arrests as of 8 a.m. while the raid was still under way. Protesters believe those arrested were taken to the Border Patrol station in Sonoita.
Why the tree mattered
The Frémont cottonwood, estimated to be about two centuries old, stood on the edge of private land along Border Road, roughly 25 miles east of Nogales. Three neighboring cottonwoods were cut down this summer. Activists set up a tree sit in late July, taking turns occupying a platform in the branches around the clock for 71 days, according to Arizona Luminaria.
The trees stood in the path of a double-layer wall planned to run 27 miles through the San Rafael Valley, part of a $334 million CBP contract, TucsonSentinel.com reported. Thee Arizona Times has previously covered construction in the valley.
What CBP says
In a statement to Arizona Luminaria, CBP said it has now removed all four cottonwoods on federal land in Lochiel that were marked for removal. Spokesperson Jessica Turner told TucsonSentinel.com that crews found no migratory bird nests in the trees before construction, and the agency said it “recognizes the importance of protecting the environment, wildlife, and cultural resources.” CBP argued that heavy illegal crossings damage habitat and agriculture. It did not answer questions from either outlet about the arrests or possible charges.
What protesters allege
Kate Scott, co-founder of the Madrean Archipelago Wildlife Center, and other protesters said agents entered the private property without showing a warrant. They also alleged that agents kicked a handcuffed person and pushed people into barbed wire. Those claims could not be independently verified, and CBP did not address them. Videos posted online and described by Arizona Luminaria show people screaming that others were being pushed into the wire, and the tree falling as onlookers cried.
Arrests at the site are not new. Three costumed protesters were arrested in mid-September after entering the construction zone. By noon Monday, organizers said they had raised about $3,500 to support those arrested.
The fight in Lochiel is one of several along Arizona’s border. The Tohono O’odham Nation is suing the federal government to stop wall construction on lands it considers sacred, TucsonSentinel.com noted.
Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons). Border wall construction east of Lochiel, Ariz., Aug. 11, 2026; not the site of the tree.